lordenglishssbm's review against another edition
3.0
An intriguing early version of Lord of the Rings' invented mythology, though not quite as audacious or as complete of an experiment. It's not even really the best stab at the idea Dunsany takes, because Time and the Gods is better.
3rdtimelucky's review against another edition
5.0
I don't even know how to give this a rating like it just is what it is. I can't exactly fault it so... 5 stars
snowynight's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
lanko's review against another edition
5.0
Great reading! Dunsany created a whole mythology, from the creation of the universe itself to how the gods act around.
I heard he had a vast influence of writers such as Lovecraft, Le Guin, Tolkien, Robert Howard and so on.
The writing is very classical but far from being archaic, which is a plus.
My favorite god has to be Mung, which is apparently the aspect of Death on this universe. People initially think of him as evil, but as the story unfolds some slowly realize his purpose.
One human builds a tower and shouts curses at this god. Mung does not reply by killing him, and this impresses people enough that they start giving this man gifts and such.
Eventually, as this human ages and decays, death does not come, to the point he finally realizes what's happening and in desperation starts singing praises to Mung, who simply ignores him for eternity.
Even as he turned to bones decades and centuries and millenia later, the guy was still alive. Pretty nasty and fabulous tale!
It's a very short book as well (~100 pages) but it did show the promise of a great world, and some very nice well written passages.
I heard he had a vast influence of writers such as Lovecraft, Le Guin, Tolkien, Robert Howard and so on.
The writing is very classical but far from being archaic, which is a plus.
My favorite god has to be Mung, which is apparently the aspect of Death on this universe. People initially think of him as evil, but as the story unfolds some slowly realize his purpose.
One human builds a tower and shouts curses at this god. Mung does not reply by killing him, and this impresses people enough that they start giving this man gifts and such.
Eventually, as this human ages and decays, death does not come, to the point he finally realizes what's happening and in desperation starts singing praises to Mung, who simply ignores him for eternity.
Even as he turned to bones decades and centuries and millenia later, the guy was still alive. Pretty nasty and fabulous tale!
It's a very short book as well (~100 pages) but it did show the promise of a great world, and some very nice well written passages.
arthurbdd's review against another edition
4.0
Enigmatic evocation of the mythology of an invented world, and a pioneering work of modern fantasy. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/2022/01/08/the-ornate-brevity-of-lord-dunsany/
angrywombat's review against another edition
4.0
Strangely familiar yet alien at the same time. I think that many other authors have been inspired by these works, yet none have really lived up to the original
The language is hypnotic, it lulled me into a dreamy state as I was reading - imagining these strange gods and vast lands.
Its not really a "story", more a collection of tales about the creation of a universe, and how the various gods play their games of worlds and creatures - and the poor mortals who somehow need to survive in this world :)
Strange, hypnotic, and totally unique.
One of the first fantasies, and still one of the best
The language is hypnotic, it lulled me into a dreamy state as I was reading - imagining these strange gods and vast lands.
Its not really a "story", more a collection of tales about the creation of a universe, and how the various gods play their games of worlds and creatures - and the poor mortals who somehow need to survive in this world :)
Strange, hypnotic, and totally unique.
One of the first fantasies, and still one of the best
jeffhall's review against another edition
2.0
The Gods of Pegana is one of those books that I want to like a whole lot more than I actually do. I understand that Dunsany was to some degree using this volume to establish a pantheon that he would re-visit in later works, but by itself The Gods of Pegana is just a little bit too slight, and even when considered as prose poetry, the individual chapters feel under-developed, even if the language itself is indeed beautiful at times.
I still intend to read more of Dunsany's work, since he was admired by a number of writers that I also admire. But here's hoping that his later books have less of a superficial shape and impact!
I still intend to read more of Dunsany's work, since he was admired by a number of writers that I also admire. But here's hoping that his later books have less of a superficial shape and impact!
nwhyte's review against another edition
4.0
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2155065.html[return][return]This is another book available online, complete with illustrations by S.H. Sime. It is quite a remarkable achievement, a short collection of fantasy vignettes illustrating a new pantheon, led by the always-capitalised creator god MNA-YOOD-SUSH*, who has fallen asleep and must not be woken (which may sound familiar); the people of Pegna, and their prophets, have a very uneasy relationship with the various deities.[return][return]Both J.R.R. Tolkien and H.P. Lovecraft, teenagers when it was first published, claimed to have been inspired by The Gods of Pegna and one can see the links, though of course they took it in quite different directions. (Lovecraft also mentions Sime's art, and one can see its influence in Tolkien's drawings too.) Looking at it from the other direction, you can detect the influence of W.B. Yeats and Lady Gregory, both of whom Dunsany would ave known well, along with perhaps some elements from his mother's cousin Sir Richard Burton. But Dunsany took all of these and made his own secondary creation; I don't think it is mch of an exaggeration to say that he helped set the tone for a whole genre.
paladinboy's review against another edition
4.0
The lyrical, high fantasy style (present in the writings of Michael Moorcock, Patricia McKillip, and Peter Beagle) that details the creation of a fantasy world. Clearly someone has missed an opportunity using this book to build a role-playing world.
Than being said, it mentions a group of prophets called the "Ood". Hmmmmmmmm, Methinks Steven Mofatt or his writers may have read this as well.
Than being said, it mentions a group of prophets called the "Ood". Hmmmmmmmm, Methinks Steven Mofatt or his writers may have read this as well.